Digital Marketing News: VR is Growing, AI is Watching & 3 Billion are on Social Media

Global Social Media User Base Reaches 3 BillionA new report compiled by HootSuite and We Are Social found that the total number of social media users has now exceeded 3 billion, accounting for about 40 percent of the global population. Truly an incredible number, and one that speaks to the contemporary ubiquity of these networks. Mashable

AI is Analyzing You on Social Media for Marketing ResearchWith so many people using social media, there are no shortage of habits and behaviors to monitor and aggregate. AI marketing solutions company Ayzenberg is using machine-learning algorithms to analyze social speech and create actionable data for segmenting and profiling customers. The Next Web

AR and VR Revenue Projected at $ 215 Billion by 2021Although everyone is still trying to figure out the best ways to utilize augmented and virtual reality, there is no question these technologies are gaining serious traction. The latest forecast from IDC suggests that spending on AR and VR products and services will reach $ 11 billion this year, with revenues expected to surpass $ 215 billion by 2021. As Jamiroquai once told us: the future’s made of virtual insanity. Media Post

Snapchat Takes a Page from Facebook Ads’ Power EditorHoping to make itself a more attractive destination for advertisers, Snapchat is beefing up its Ads Manager functionality with a new “Advanced Mode” that brings in new targeting, testing, and tweaking features. We’ll see if it helps turn around the company’s sluggish stock performance. TechCrunch

LinkedIn Expands Marketing Program, with Eye on Targeting, MeasurementIn efforts to help marketers better measure and increase ROI, LinkedIn is expanding and diversifying its Marketing Partners Program, which originally launched three years ago. The program helps business users connect with LinkedIn-approved third-party technology partners. The three new categories added are marketing analytics, audience management, and media buying. Newly introduced partners include HootSuite and Marketo. Marketing Dive

People Take More Time to Read Emails on Mobile Than DesktopIt probably doesn’t shock you that more people now read emails on their mobile devices than desktop. But this nugget may come as a surprise: recipients spend more time reading emails on mobile, and are more likely to go through the entire message instead of quickly exiting. This runs contrary to conventional thinking that smartphone users are apt to skim-and-skip emails. Marketers, take note. Marketing Charts

Brands Use Instagram Stories More Than Twice as Often as SnapchatSnapchat is the most popular platform for taking a picture of yourself with a glittery unicorn filter, but its business utility remains dubious. This is evidenced by the fact that, per business intelligence firm L2, brands are using Instagram Stories far more often. “As Instagram becomes the mainstream choice for brand Stories, Snapchat risks being niche-ified,” L2 suggested in its report. AdWeek

Linqia Unveils ‘First’ Platform for Predicting Influencer EngagementMore interesting news out of Silicon Valley: Linqia is releasing an updated version of its flagship platform, which the company is dubbing as the first to predictively analyze influencer performance. The company claims its tool will deliver better than 90 percent accuracy in forecasting influencer campaign engagement metrics. MarTech Today

40 Facts About How the Psychology of Color Can Boost Your Website Conversions [Infographic] How can you boost website conversions? By changing up your color pallette, according to this infographic via the review site Skilled. Dig into the data for some intriguing insights on the psychology of color and how it affects decision-making. MarketingProfs

What were your top digital marketing news stories this week?

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